


Life sucks (but it sucks less with you in it)

by kaythemom



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Time, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:02:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23741980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaythemom/pseuds/kaythemom
Summary: Jeno and Jaemin are freshmen in university, they have been friends ever since they can remember but this is for sure the hardest thing in their life so far. That, along with the thought of saying their feelings out loud.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Kudos: 60





	Life sucks (but it sucks less with you in it)

“University fucking sucks, my dude,” Jaemin sighs, laying in the dark on the cold ground. Jeno just smiles to himself even though he knows that the younger man can’t see him. After all, both of there are studying the same university so he knows what’s it like. It sucks but at least they can chill together like this. It would’ve been worse if they didn’t go into the same uni. Jeno’s heart would’ve been torn into pieces. Not that he’d say that out loud.

“How come, you were so excited to study biochem,” Jeno wonders out loud, turning his head towards Jaemin to watch his beautiful face in the dark, just slightly lit with bright city lights. The younger had his arms folded under his head, dramatically sighing and pouting.

It’s a Friday night, the summer finals season is quickly approaching and they are spending the nice and warm night by chilling together on the roof of the campus library. They brought an old handsewn blanket Jeno got from his mom before moving to uni dorms, two bottles of red wine and some snacks. Some people might call it a date, they call it the perfect chill out. They are laying on the blanket, Jaemin on his back, watching the stars above their heads, Jeno on his side, watching Jaemin. He’s perfectly content. They haven’t drunk much of the wine yet, mostly just talking or enjoying each other’s presence. Uni life has been hectic for them both.

“Yeah, I love biochem, but it’s just so difficult. I had to buy a planner. You hear me right, a fucking planner like I’m a high school girl that dedicates five minutes to writing the chapter name. It’s hard to keep up with all the deadlines and lectures and stuff. I’m so tired. Also, finals are close and it’s stressing me out,” Jaemin whines, turning to Jeno and looking straight into his eyes.

“I’m happy that I have you, you are the only reason why I haven’t gone insane yet,” he says, softly smiling at the older man.

“Wow, wow, wow, where’s all this affection coming from?” Jeno giggles but caresses Jaemin’s cheek to let him know that he’s just joking. Their relationship has been like this ever since they can remember. They always joke around, tease each other but they’re also incredibly soft for each other and affectionate. They’ve always been like this. But that doesn’t stop Jaemin’s heart from jumping a little as a reaction to that gentle touch. 

“I’m serious, I always look forward to chilling with you and unwinding and just being with you,” Jaemin says quietly and almost chokes on his own words. Seriously, where is all this coming from? Jeno’s heart does a backflip, he gulps and says “okay.” Jaemin can’t deal with this situation so he awkwardly sits up and reaches for a nearby bottle of wine. He takes a big sip of the red liquid and swallows but immediately starts choking. In a second, Jeno is up, bringing Jaemin close and hitting his back as carefully as possible. 

Jaemin chokes for a while and tears start piling up in the corners of his eyes but eventually he’s able to catch a proper breath.

“Fuck you, tannins,” Jaemin says, voice hoarse, and looks up to Jeno who’s hugging him and making his feel small.  
“Okay, you nerd, I have no idea what are you talking about,” the older man laughs lightheartedly and presses a little kiss on the other’s forehead. Because that’s what best friends do, right?

“Tannins are biomolecules that interact with proteins in your saliva a cause the bitter taste and drying feeling of wine,” the younger pouts, trying to not seem affected by the forehead kiss.

“You really are a nerd, I love it,” Jeno looks into Jaemin’s eyes, smiling at him. The world stops existing as Jaemin sits up and gives Jeno a soft, awkward kiss. It’s such a spur of the moment thing that he can’t believe what he’s doing and Jeno’s eyes are suddenly wide open, not knowing what to make of this. Do best friends kiss each other on the lips? Is that a normal thing to do? He doesn’t know. Meanwhile, Jaemin slides down again, hiding his face in his hands, not knowing whether he’s just ruined their life-long friendship.

When Jeno calms down his racing mind a bit, he takes Jaemin’s hands into his and reaches down to give him another soft peck. The younger’s train of thought stops and he gives into the kiss, pulling Jeno closer by the back of his neck.

Their kiss is all kinds of wonky, after all they’re just two lanky boys unknowingly in love with each other. They separate when they run out of air, foreheads pressed together, holding each other and looking into the other’s eyes.

“Wow, I don’t think best friends do this” is all that Jeno can muster.

“They don’t,” Jaemin whispers, “but I’m in love with you. I’m sorry if you hate me now.”

The older boy’s head spins when he hears those words but a huge stone that’s been discreetly weighing him down shatters.

“I love you too, you silly. And I could never hate you, you’re also the best thing in my life,” Jeno says, smiling widely, his eyes forming little crescents because he’s so so happy.

“You know, I didn’t know it was love five minutes ago. But I’m sure,” Jaemin smiles softly. They are in a weird and uncomfortable position so he shifts, sitting up with legs crossed and facing the other boy. It’s a magical moment for them both.

“So like, are we dating now?” Jeno wonders out loud and puts his hands on the younger boy’s thighs.

“I think so. But I gotta warn you, I suck at relationships.”

“This is your first relationship.”

“Exactly,” Jaemin laughs and nudges the other one’s shoulder.

“Let’s pack up and head back to the dorm, I’ve experienced enough emotions today,” he laughs again and gently pushes Jeno off of the blanket.

“I’m glad I have you but you’re so bossy sometimes,” the older laughs lightheartedly and starts packing snacks and basically full bottles of wine. The starry sky is shining above them, enveloping them in the comfort of early-summer nights.

***

Life doesn’t change much after they start dating. They share a dorm room, have beds pushed together but life stays pretty much the same. Busy, tough, hard to keep up with. But they have each other.

Every morning Jaemin has to wake up early and rush to the lab while Jeno sleeps in a bit, he’s studying to become a teacher and doesn’t have that many classes to begin with. Jaemin gives him a quick peck on the cheek every morning before he rushes out of the door, late as usual. They spend all day apart, each doing the best to survive their degree’s high demands. Sometimes they eat out together in the evening, go on a little date, watch an episode of a Netflix show or just eat instant ramen in bed. Sometimes they hang out with someone else or are too tired to even eat. 

But every single evening ends in cuddles. The boys switch their spooning positions according to their mood, who’s had a shitty day of who just needs some extra comfort. 

In the beginning they used to fall asleep in each other’s arms which was romantic but turned out to be very impractical considering that Jeno was a literal heating, he emitted warmth no matter what and the summer was on the brink of starting so they came to a conclusion that they had to fall asleep a bit further from each other.

Life’s basically the same but at the same time way better.

***

Weekends are the best though. They get to sleep in, then laze around, make some food and then laze around some more.

“Make me scrambled eggs,” Jaemin whines one morning and nudges Jeno with his foot.

“You wish,” the older smirks and nudges the other one back.

“Hey, don’t be a meanie,” the younger sits on top of him and starts tickling his sides. Jeno is laughing, trying to fight him off and tickle him back, tears of laughter forming in his eyes.

Jaemin is particularly merciful this day so he stops tickling Jeno and instead starts peppering kisses all over his face, eventually planting a few open-mouthed kisses on the older’s neck. Jeno chokes on a breath and lets out something like a moan. Jaemin tries to remember the sound for future references and continues kissing his neck.

“Min, I--” Jeno moans again, a bit louder this time when Jaemin bites him right under his jaw.

“You like it?”

“Yea-ah.”

“Then make me scrambled eggs and I’ll continue with it,” Jaemin pulls away and smirks at the blushing aroused boy.

“You fucker,” the older groans but gets up, partially hiding the bulge that’s appeared underneath his pajama shorts.

***

“I’m getting a tattoo tomorrow, will you come to the salon with me please?” Jaemin casually asks Jeno on a sunny Thursday afternoon, four days before the start of finals.

“Of course baby, what are you gonna get?” Jeno is genuinely curious and supportive, he’d probably support his boyfriend even if he decided to pursue a serial killer career, that’s how whipped he is.

“I wanna get a caffeine molecule on the inside of my left arm,” the younger smiles, excitement apparent in his huge sparkly eyes, “you know I’m a nerd.”

“Well, if you become addicted to tattoos like everyone else, I hope you’ll get a tattoo that’s connected to me.”

“Nah, we’ll just get matching tattoos.”

***

It’s a Friday evening, they’re three weeks into finals, mentally exhausted, both of them far beyond the point of daily workouts and healthy meals to keep them going, instead they rely on caffeine and a continuous surges of stress coursing through their veins, sometimes eating instant ramyeon and ordering take out to survive. Also, they still haven’t had their first time. All the stress and sexual frustration and curiosity is getting on their nerves, they’re both jumpy and slightly annoyed at all times.

“Hey, this has to stop. I haven’t seen a vegetable in two weeks, my bowel movement doesn’t work because I don’t even remember what fiber is and I wanna cuddle without having to set a timer for five minutes so I don’t procrastinate for too long, let’s just chill together tonight,” Jaemin snaps a little one day when they’re sitting next to each other, eating ungodly amounts of cereal and reading Physical chemistry for biochemistry students and Educational psychology.

“I guess that’s a good idea, my brain’s about to explode and I miss you even tho we’re together every day,” Jeno agrees, places a hand on Jaemin’s cheek and pulls him closer to give him a smooch. The younger gives him one back and keeps their lips connected for a little while, melting into the warm softness of his boyfriend’s plush lips. They rest their foreheads against each other and Jeno says: “let’s put these things aside, get groceries, cook something with a vegetable and then chill.”

They don’t bother with changing clothes even though they are a mess, after all they live in a city full of uni students, everyone knows about finals.

They buy some necessary groceries including chicken breasts, about 30 pounds of vegetables, two pints of ice cream and a bottle of rosé. 

“Sometimes I really hate Chungha for showing you the beauty of fresh produce because my muscles are weak and I really don’t know how we managed to carry this horrendous amount of food in one trip,” Jeno complains but he knows that his insides are craving something that doesn’t contain three times the recommended amount of salt and sugar in one serving.

They cook a large pot of rice with veggies, gochujang and sesame oil and sit down on their pushed together beds to watch a few episodes of The Circle and relax shirtless because the summer heat is getting unbearable even during night time.

They’re content, each of them downing two bowls of their ‘bibimbap’. After they’re full to their hearts’ content, they cuddle closer, enjoying the comfort and closeness.

Jeno takes the younger’s hand and presses a kiss on each of his knuckles, the younger man smiles and kissing the top of his boyfriend’s head. He gasps when Jeno suddenly licks his nipple, a hand sliding over the other one at the same time.

“What are you doing baby?” Jaemin asks and gasps a second later as Jeno flicks his buds again.

“Something I’ve been wanting to do for a while,” he winks and starts planting open-mouthed kisses up his chest and approaching the younger’s delicate neck, tentatively exploring the sensitive area and then biting down, creating a purple mark. Jaemin is moaning above him, hands curled into little fists in Jeno’s hair. The older continues kissing his neck and eventually comes up to kiss Jaemin straight on the lips. They’re both painfully hard in their briefs, the sexual tension too hard to ignore, both panting hard and now looking into each other’s eyes.

“I love you so much,” Jaemin breathes out as he starts attacks his boyfriend’s mouth, kissing him fervently, grabbing his cheeks and sucking the air out of his lungs, biting the bottom lip in process.

Jeno is a putty in his arms, helplessly kissing him back, tongues dancing, hands restless , dick hard and leaking.

When they part, they shimmy out of their briefs, immediately hugging and making out, saliva dripping down their chins, cocks rubbing together.

They’re moving against each other, breathing hard, moaning, Jaemin even stops kissing Jeno for a second to spit into his hands and rub their aroused cocks together. Jaemin whines when Jeno creates another purple mark on his neck, the two boys suddenly coming in unison after holding the arousal in for so long, come covering their chests and hands as they rest foreheads together, glistening in sweat and coming down from the post orgasmic high.

“I love you,” Jeno breaths out and smiles so hard his eyes form little adorable crescents.

“I love you too,” Jaemin says once again and reaches for napkins, cleaning the both of them and throwing them somewhere on the floor.

“Well, now I have one more reason to look forward to the end of finals,” the older says slyly and he cuddles closer to his boyfriend in all his naked glory, effectively becoming the big spoon for the night.

“Well, now I have one more reason to look forward to a morning shower,” Jaemin chuckles and pulls the other’s hands closed to his chest, sighing in relief and content. Jeno pinches his arm to convey his feelings of betrayal playfully.

“But you know, even though life sucks, it sucks less with you in it.”

**Author's Note:**

> My dudes, it's been literally two years since I posted here. A lot has changed, I'm studying dietetics in university, I'm in a happy healthy relationship (and we live together), but otherwise I'm still a piece of garbage.  
> I never knew I'd post here again but here we go, this is an early birthday gift to Jeno, Jaemin and myself. My writing is probably really rusty but I hope you've enjoyed it at least a bit. Love ya, good night,


End file.
